Chapter 2

Bianca immediately burst out laughing and gave Marco a playful punch in the chest.

"Marco, how many times do I have to tell you? I run this crew. Show some respect and call me Boss."

Marco DeLuca, one of Lorenzo's closest men, raised both hands in surrender.

"Yes, Boss. My mistake."

The men around the table erupted into laughter, shouting over one another and knocking their glasses together. For a moment, they seemed to forget that I, the woman Lorenzo was supposed to marry tomorrow, was still standing there.

When Bianca finally stopped laughing, she looked from Marco to me, mischief flashing in her eyes.

"Fine. You both owe me an apology, but words are too easy."

She tapped one of the bottles on the table.

"One bottle each. Finish it, and I'll forget this ever happened."

Lorenzo was the first to clap.

"That's generous of you, Bianca."

The others immediately joined in, cheering and applauding as my expression slowly turned cold.

A server brought over two bottles of wine and set them on the table.

Bianca glanced at Marco.

"You've been complaining about your stomach all night. Give me some of yours."

Before he could answer, she took his bottle and poured a generous amount into her own glass.

She drained it in one go.

Cheers broke out around the table.

Marco grinned and took the bottle back.

"That's why you're family, Bianca. For life."

He finished the rest to another round of applause.

Then, one by one, every pair of eyes at the table turned toward me.

"Your turn, Mrs. Valente."

Lorenzo immediately slipped an arm around my waist.

"She's not Mrs. Valente yet."

That only made them laugh harder.

"Fine. Future Mrs. Valente. Drink!"

Lorenzo leaned close to my ear.

"Adriana, just do it. For me."

I looked at him.

"Lorenzo, you know I'm allergic to alcohol."

His smile faltered.

For a moment, recognition flickered across his face.

Years ago, before Lorenzo had risen high enough in the Valente Family for men to lower their voices when they said his name, a business meeting had gone badly.

He'd called me late that night, drunk, asking me to come get him.

When I arrived, the men he was drinking with refused to let him leave unless I had a drink with them first.

I wanted to get Lorenzo out of there, so I took the glass they handed me and swallowed it.

Lorenzo went home drunk.

I went to the emergency room.

The reaction had been so severe that the doctor told me another delay could have killed me.

When I was finally discharged, Lorenzo sat beside me with bloodshot eyes, holding my hand so tightly it hurt.

"Adriana, I swear no one will ever force you to drink again."

I had believed him.

Now Bianca wanted to turn my apology into entertainment, and Lorenzo was standing beside me asking me to drink an entire bottle.

My fingers slowly curled into my palms.

"Adriana," he murmured, his smile tightening as he noticed everyone watching us. "Don't make this a bigger deal than it needs to be."

I stared at him.

"You remember what happened last time."

"I remember."

"Then why are you asking me to drink?"

His jaw tightened.

"It's wine, not hard liquor. The alcohol content is lower. You don't have to finish the whole thing. Take a few sips, let Bianca have her fun, and I'll deal with the rest."

For a moment, I said nothing.

He remembered.

That was the worst part.

He remembered exactly what alcohol had done to me, and he was still asking me to risk it because refusing Bianca in front of his men would embarrass him.

Something inside me went cold.

For the first time since agreeing to marry Lorenzo Valente, I wondered if becoming his wife would be the biggest mistake of my life.

One of the men at the table called out impatiently.

"Come on, Adriana. We're waiting."

A few others began tapping their glasses against the table.

Bianca watched me for a moment before giving a soft laugh.

"Oh, leave her alone. Maybe Adriana just doesn't know how things work around Lorenzo yet."

The tapping gradually stopped.

I looked at her.

Bianca swirled the wine in her glass.

"Lorenzo has never been very good with boundaries. Give him something he's not supposed to touch, and suddenly that's the only thing he wants."

A few men exchanged amused looks.

Her eyes settled deliberately on mine.

"If I were you, Adriana, I wouldn't expect marriage to change him."

My brows drew together.

I turned toward Lorenzo.

"What exactly is she talking about?"

Before he could answer, Bianca laughed.

"Oh, Lorenzo. I've been teasing you in front of your bride all night. Don't tell me you're suddenly going to act innocent."

Then her eyes widened.

She covered her mouth with one hand.

"Oops. Did I say too much?"

The innocence was so exaggerated it could only have been deliberate.

I looked at Lorenzo.

He didn't look angry.

He laughed.

Then he caught Bianca by the wrist and pulled her hand away from her mouth.

"Enough. You're going to talk yourself into trouble."

Bianca grinned.

"Since when have you ever been afraid of trouble?"

"Since I had to spend half my life getting you out of it."

"Please. Half the trouble was yours."

Lorenzo shook his head, laughing.

Bianca gave him another shove, and he caught her wrist before she could do it again.

The men around them burst into laughter.

Just like that, the question I'd asked was forgotten.

The bottle was still sitting in front of me.

Lorenzo was still holding Bianca's wrist.

And everyone else was laughing as though this were just another night among people who had known one another too long to care about boundaries.

I stood beside Lorenzo without saying another word.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to marry into the Valente Family.

But standing in their private club, surrounded by Lorenzo's closest friends, I had never felt more like an outsider.